model numbers that people have had good and bad experiences would be great. as bosh have about 10 different dishwashers and others have a similar number

Bosch SMU68 is what I have, range here. I think the 6 series was top of the range when I got them, at least in the store I went to. I like the cutlery drawer up top. I think you get a few extra programs with the 8 series, slightly more efficient.

Jase2985:

 

model numbers that people have had good and bad experiences would be great. as bosh have about 10 different dishwashers and others have a similar number

 

Problem is that most peoples dishwasher models will have been superseded, as new models are released all the time. Probably a better judge is whether it is a proper undermount one, or freestanding, and whether it is the bottom of the range, mid range or top range model. In my case it is a mid range underbench model.

We used to have a bosch, it was pretty good, but despite working well it was very old and very slow.... so about 6 years ago we decided to replace it.

We replaced it with a F&P...... here is the lesson of the day:

"Friends don't let friends buy fisher and paykel"

So, we didn't buy the extended warranty.... during the course of it's 3 year warranty it died 4 times - logic board failure, pump failure, you name it, it broke.

at about 3 and a half years old, the logic board failed again... I pushed F&P with the consumer guarantees act - they reluctantly fixed it (I'd asked it to be replaced - but they said they had the right of repair first)....

It went for about another 3 months when the upper rotor arm disintegrated..... I didn't bother calling F&P again, I just threw it away.

Replaced it with a westinghouse this time, 2 years on, all good so far.

mattwnz:

 

Jase2985:

 

model numbers that people have had good and bad experiences would be great. as bosh have about 10 different dishwashers and others have a similar number

 

 

 

 

Problem is that most peoples dishwasher models will have been superseded, as new models are released all the time. Probably a better judge is whether it is a proper undermount one, or freestanding, and whether it is the bottom of the range, mid range or top range model. In my case it is a mid range underbench model.

 

 you can still get an appreciation for what it is and google it with a model number

KShips: We have a F&P dishdraws, around 5 years old and parents one is around 7 years, both fantastic and would buy again. Sister has the newer model thats around a year old and even better than ours (adjustable racks etc, more moden square design). Would sneak in on your price restrictions.

Also a fan of the dish-drawer.  We bought ours new in 2013.  Absolutely excellent, faultless etc.  Very quiet.

I really like the convenience of two dishwashers.

I've had two Fisher and Paykel dishwashers and both crapped out within 7 years. The last one was just a re-bagged Phillips Whirlpool and it caught fire because of a doggie warranty fix.

I got a AEG because of the 5 years warranty. I've owned the AEG and I've had to have if fixed three times in 2 years. First time was in the first week when it started to leak and two controller boards. In general I don't seam to have much luck with dishwashers in general.

If I was to buy again it would be a Bosh but the mid-range versions, not the cheapest.

I think all brands of appliances have good and bad units and it is luck of the draw.

I've owned F&P appliances all my adult life.

Dishwashers, clothes washers, clothes driers, fridges, hobs and ovens and have never had a serious problem.

But I know other people who have had terrible runs with F&P.

The brands I have been consistently disappointed with are Delonghi and Smeg.  But other people rate them. 

Still liking our Dishdrawer.

6 Years old now, hasn't missed a beat.

I do worry that the top drawer is going to crap out, only because it would easily get twice as much use as the bottom drawer. 

We rented our house out for a year, and the tenant loved it as well.

Would agree with earlier posters about Smeg - the house we were in for the year we were away from ours had all Smeg appliances. The Oven was OK, as was the Fridge, but the Dishwasher was the biggest POS I've ever had the misfortune of having to use. Bits falling off inside, door made a mysterious clanging noise when closing it, it leaked a couple of times and the trays/runners for trays were horrible so loading/unloading was a real pain. Also, took a lot less dishes than the Dishdrawers.

New f&p dishdrawer owner here.  I wanted the two drawers over a conventional single large washing space as we are a small family and wouldn't always fill a whole dishwasher.  It happily takes all our ovenware and I love that I can have two washes going independently of each other eg fill it up with the dishes from dinner then while that's running, start loading the second with dishes from supper.

We always cycle usage between the two drawers.

I'm impressed with how dry it gets everything. I'm so used to having to wipe the base of cups with a tea towel with others i've used but love that I can go straight from the machine to the cupboard with no fluffing around.

I don't use the balls, instead use finish powder as I like to vary the amount used according to how dirty the wash is.

We had a top-of-the-line F&P dishdrawer at our old place, and an old, mid-range Bosch at our new.

The dishdrawer was great for small loads, and def very quiet. However, we did have some issues with the build quality initially, took a couple of visits from the repairman to sort. The F&P got things clean and dry, but stuff had to be _very_ well rinsed before being washed or it would get baked on and you'd need a chisel to get it off.

The Bosch at the new place is also very quiet, and gets things super clean without the need for nearly as much rinsing (though the habit has now been established and I can seldom bring myself to put cruddy dishes in it). The size now suits our bigger family better too.

Overall, I'd recommend the Bosch over the F&P, unless you only do very small loads.

I believe all dishes should be stored in dish drawers. All storage in any kitchen for plates, drinking, cutlery and almost everything else in a kitchen should be stored in dish drawers.

As I do not have a dish drawer (at minimum i recommend three) at my house - only a normal dishwasher - I am therefore forced to use paper plates for all meals.

We don't rinse anything going into the relatively new, high end Bosch dishwasher. The manual tells you not to. Maybe if there's something already super super baked on we would, one a month at most, otherwise not.

timmmay:

 

We don't rinse anything going into the relatively new, high end Bosch dishwasher. The manual tells you not to. Maybe if there's something already super super baked on we would, one a month at most, otherwise not.

 

My problem with this strategy isn't washing performance or economy - it's that it takes me and my partner 3-4 days to fill up our dishwasher. If I didn't rinse the dishes before I put them in, the smell on the fourth day would knock me out when I opened it, especially in summer. I'd have to do a rinse cycle each night, which seems to defeat the point.

I suppose if you ran it every 1-2 days then this wouldn't be such an issue.

For what it's worth our house came with a new mid-range Fisher & Paykel and it seems excellent to me. Cutlery basket and drawer, fits loads, very quiet, cleans everything, gets things dry (except plastic Tupperware). I gather that longevity and reliability are the main objections with modern F&P, so time will tell I suppose.

Good point, I do sometimes rinse the dishes with strong chipolte chillies on them, my wife doesn't like the smell. I tend to wash the dishwasher every night, even with just the two of us, because we somehow use heaps of plates and cups, plastic containers for lunch, etc. The cost of running the dishwasher at 3am on Flick is so low it's almost zero - I did work it out but it runs at the same time as the water heating so I'm not sure. I'll try to work it out again.